1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to locks for doors that open vertically, such as garage doors, rollup doors and overhead doors. More specifically, the present invention relates to electrically operated locks for vertical doors and to systems for controlling multiple, electrically operated, vertical door locks from a central location.
2. Description of Related Art
Self-storage centers typically provide multiple individual storage areas, each of which is accessible through a lockable, vertically opening, rollup door. In existing installations, each customer is provided with a mechanical key to open and access a corresponding assigned storage area.
When a key is lost, or the storage area is rented to another customer, the key must be replaced and/or the lock must be changed. This represents an ongoing problem due to both cost and the labor time required. Locks and keys must also be changed when a customer has failed to pay applicable storage fees. If a self-storage facility permits its customers to access storage areas 24 hours a day, but is staffed only during business hours, problems arise when access must be restored during non-business hours to a storage area previously made inaccessible for non-payment. Although a customer can easily make payments via a phone or over the Internet, it still requires a maintenance worker at the local storage facility to restore access to the storage area.
It is also desirable for a self-storage facility to be able to monitor and control when secured areas are being opened and by whom. This is not possible with conventional mechanical lock systems currently used by the self-storage industry. Monitoring for forced entry is also desirable, but is not currently available in an integrated system with electronic locks and remote access control.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vertical door locking system that electronically controls access to a secure area.
A further object of the invention is to provide a vertical door locking system that includes mechanical overrides for alternative entry and exit from the secure area.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vertical door locking system that can remotely change access codes for accessing a secure area and can operate with multiple access codes.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.